Evaluators often face a common challenge: survey results show many items scoring similarly, leaving leaders to ask, “What should we improve first?” While it’s tempting to focus on the lowest‑scoring items, these scores alone don’t reveal what actually drives key outcomes. Driver analysis fills this gap by identifying which survey items have the greatest influence on the outcome of interest.

The Pre‑Interview Risk Assessment Checklist is designed to help evaluators ensure interviews are safe, ethical, and well‑planned before they begin. Interviews can carry inherent risks that can affect participant well‑being, interviewer safety, and the quality of the data collected. This resource offers a structured, easy‑to‑use process for identifying potential concerns early and putting the right mitigation strategies in place.

It can be easy to describe what a program does, but is much harder to pin down what it’s actually trying to change. Without clear outcomes and assumptions, evaluations end up measuring what’s convenient instead of what matters.
A good program logic spells out the intended change, why it’s expected, and what’s realistically within the program’s influence. When that clarity is in place, everything from indicators to data collection becomes more meaningful.

Evaluative thinking is part of a meaningful evaluation, yet it’s often a challenging part of the process. While data can tell us what happened, it takes intentional reflection to uncover the so what—the significance, implications, and opportunities hidden within our findings. This resource, 10 Evaluative Thinking Questions, is designed to help evaluators, program managers, staff, and partners move beyond surface-level interpretation and dig deeper into what their results truly mean.

Ultimately, this resource helps transform evaluation from a reporting exercise into a learning practice.

Creating an accessible evaluation report isn’t just about technical standards—it’s about making sure your findings can be understood, navigated, and used by the widest possible audience. This article introduces our Accessibility in Reporting infographic, a practical guide with seven key components and easy tips you can apply right away to improve clarity, inclusivity, and usability in every report.

Kick off your evaluation year with confidence by following five practical steps designed to streamline workflows and maximize impact. These steps help evaluators stay intentional, responsive, and efficient to support meaningful results and stronger relationships throughout the year. Start your year with clarity and purpose to achieve evaluation success!

This year-end wrap-up takes a look at the Eval Academy content that evaluators engaged with most in 2025—from our top articles and most downloaded resources to new courses, webinars, and learning tools. It offers a snapshot of what readers found most useful this year and highlights the practical evaluation topics that shaped our work.

Managing feedback on evaluation reports can be one of the most challenging parts of the reporting process, especially when multiple reviewers, approval chains, timelines, and perspectives are involved. This article outlines nine practical strategies to streamline how you plan for, request, organize, and integrate feedback so your reporting process stays clear, efficient, and on track.

This ready-to-use Paper Survey Template helps you create clear, well-structured paper surveys in Word without the usual formatting challenges. It includes customizable examples of common question types, a built-in introduction section, and practical tips to streamline setup—making it easier to design participant-friendly surveys that collect the data you actually need.

Evaluating gender-based violence programs requires care, intention, and a trauma-informed mindset. This article explores how trauma-informed principles can be embedded throughout every stage of an evaluation—supporting safety, minimizing harm, and honouring the voices of survivors and frontline workers. It offers practical, real-world considerations for conducting meaningful and ethical evaluations in this complex and sensitive sector.

Learn how to use a data party to sensemake your data! A video summary.

Qualitative sensemaking sessions—also known as data parties—are collaborative spaces where participants engage directly with qualitative findings to co-create meaning, refine themes, and strengthen recommendations. Unlike quantitative sessions that typically follow completed analysis, qualitative sessions benefit from earlier engagement, allowing participants to shape emerging insights and add valuable context. To ensure effectiveness, evaluators should clearly define session objectives, organise findings to avoid information overload, and incorporate visuals to break up text. Common challenges include managing groupthink, handling sensitive data with care, and balancing depth with time constraints, all of which require thoughtful planning and flexibility.

Discover practical strategies for managing stress in evaluation projects. This article explores common stressors faced by evaluators, including ambiguity, emotional impact, constant change, and limited resources. Learn actionable tips for reducing stress through enhanced project management, protecting scope and budgets, fostering team support, and using self-reflection. The guide also highlights leadership habits that promote healthy evaluation practices and offers tools for building resilience and maintaining balance. Ideal for evaluators seeking to improve wellbeing and effectiveness in their work.

Learn how to bridge the gap between evaluation questions and indicators in program evaluation. This article explains why developing indicators is a crucial step before choosing methods and measures, ensuring evaluations are focused, feasible, and aligned with intended outcomes. Discover practical tips for selecting specific, measurable, and timely indicators, balancing quantitative and qualitative approaches, and using frameworks like logic models and theory of change. The guide also covers indicator types, triangulation, and the importance of involving stakeholders in indicator design for robust, actionable evaluation results.

Evaluability Assessments (EAs) can save time, money, and effort by showing if a program is ready for evaluation—or if it’s too soon. This article breaks down when an EA is worth doing, when it’s not, and what to try instead.

This article highlights the five most common cognitive biases that can influence evaluation work and offers practical tips to avoid them. A quick, useful read for anyone who wants to strengthen the clarity, credibility, and impact of their evaluations.

This article introduces dyadic interviews—a method where two participants are interviewed together—and explores their unique benefits, challenges, and applications in evaluation.

Ever thought of testing your evaluation skills in a real-world challenge? This article shows how case competitions offer hands-on practice, networking, and even career opportunities—making them a fun and rewarding way to grow as an evaluator.

This article brings together Eval Academy’s top resources—organized around our “Three U’s” approach: Understand, Uncover, and Utilize. Whether you’re new to evaluation or ready to advance your practice, these curated resources will help you plan smarter, collect stronger data, and communicate findings with impact.

In Part 2 of our series on data triangulation, we move from theory to practice. This article shows you how to present triangulated findings in your evaluation report.